Bright spot
With the political atmosphere clearing up a bit, it may be good to take a look at the positive side of 2007.
In addition to the impressive performances of the peso and the stock market, the accomplishments of the housing sector is the other bright spot in the country’s socio-economic landscape.
The housing sector gains can be summed up in three major accomplishments. First, more informal settlers now own the land in which their houses are built. Second, it is easier for the middle class to obtain housing loans at lower rates. And third, there is a pervasive air of private sector confidence on the housing programs.
First, housing czar Vice President Noli De Castro’s thrusts in the housing efforts may have done away with the dole-out syndrome. Instead, the focus has been on empowering people so they can build homes that they can own. And second, on getting everybody to collaborate so that more homes can be built for the needier sectors of our society.
Focal point of the government’s housing efforts for the informal settlers has been the community mortgage program (CMP) which allows slum dwellers or residents of blighted areas to purchase the privately owned lands they presently occupy or where they would like to be relocated.
This is done through their duly-organized community associations. They purchase their land under the concept of communal ownership which helps them to better appreciate shared responsibilities and accountabilities.
Over the past three years, some 53,000 informal settlers were enabled by the CMP to own the land they occupy. The government helped them acquire about 450 sites and extended some P2.7 billion in mortgage housing assistance to them.
Two factors account for the accelerated expansion of the CMP during the past three years. De Castro had earlier ordered that the bureaucratic requirements of the program be radically reduced. As a result, the documentary requirements for CMP availment has been reduced from a whopping 56 to only 18.
The good thing with the CMP is that there is an emphasis on accountability. The informal settlers who take part in the program know that the land is not a dole-out. They are collectively accountable for the repayment of their loan. When some families default, they put the rest to the same risk of losing what they have been amortizing.
The CMP approach has won the support of international development partners as well as nongovernmental organizations. They help slum-dwellers prepare themselves to take part in the program and to fulfill their obligations.
De Castro wants local government units to eventually take frontline lead in the CMP. The Vice President reportedly believes the program can be made to move even faster with local executives at the helm. Their leadership, he adds, would put the program into the very core of local governments’ efforts to further upgrade their cities.
And as De Castro says, then the association enters into the community mortgage covenant, they realize that “hindi lamang ang lupa ang naka-prenda kundi pati ang kanilang karangalan” (it is not just the land that has been mortgaged but their honor as well).
The program is gaining success because Filipinos value both land and honor.
Pioneering training strategy
One call center, ePerformax, has showed the way in terms of human resource development. Established in 2002, ePerformax is part of the Transnational Diversified Group (TDG), a Philippine-based consortium of more than 30 businesses and partly owned by the Delgado family.
ePerformax pioneered in many aspects of contact center human resource development in the country. It was the first call center in the
The TESDA accreditation is crucial to ePerformax’s strategy of developing the necessary skills of “near-hires” – potential agents and employees who require, at varying degrees, some skills training to make them eligible for call center positions. The big plus here is that once these near-hires undergo and complete their skills training – with the imprimatur of TESDA – ePerformax will be there to hire them.
Since ePerformax begin its TESDA certified Finishing Course for near-hires in Nov. 2006, it has had promising results. Over 85 percent of the trainees that start the program graduate from it. And 70 percent of those receive immediate job offers from ePerformax upon graduating.
So, in terms of sustaining call center growth and maintaining the country’s competitive edge, not to mention giving the employment drive a big push, ePerformax should be credited for its innovative strategies.
Not so hidden agenda
After recording a 20 percent increase in return on equity during the first three quarters of the year — the highest in the banking industry for the same period so far — followed by yet another award this time from Asset Magazine for topping the sellside for local peso government bond, Security Bank is again brandishing its focus on achieving customer loyalty by introducing another pioneering product - CheckSure.
Catering to the upper tier income salaried or self-employed individuals, professionals and entrepreneurs, CheckSure provides a more convenient option than the traditional cash advance feature inherent in the credit card since those who will avail of the facility can readily issue a check chargeable against his or her card’s available cash advance limit should a need arise.
CheckSure, which comes after other pioneering innovations like CashLink, Mobile Banker, and Digibanker, works by providing funding to Security Bank current account holders from their respective SB MasterCard credit card every time it falls short in funding in-clearing checks so long as the cash advance limit is sufficient to cover the transaction.
Earlier this year, Singapore-based FinTech Asia Conference recognized Security Bank’s Digibanker with the Financial Insights Innovation Award. We won’t be surprised when CheckSure garners similar recognition internationally.
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